7.
“IT’S ‘INTENTION’ WHAT ‘CONSTITUTES’ ‘KARMA’*(1)
*(1a) (MOTIVE) *(1b) (DETERMINES: )*(1c) (PRODUCTION)
THIS MEANS THAT
IT IS HATING, AND NOT THE HURTING, WHICH DENOTES HATRED OR HEARTLESSNESS;
(OR ILL WILL) (OR INFLICTING)
IT IS ‘FEELING AND NOT THE ‘HEALING’, WHICH DENOTES COMPASSION.*(2)
(OR GOOD WILL) (OR THE GOOD)
ALSO
IT IS NOT THE ‘EARNING, BUT THE ‘YEARNING’, WHICH CONSTITUTE GREED*(3)
(OR POSSESSION) (OR OBSESSION)
AND, THAT IT IS THE ‘GIVING UP‘, AND NOT THE ‘GIVING‘ WHICH CAN COUNT GREED*(4);
(OR RENUNCIATIONS) (OR GENEROSITY)
COMPASSION AND RENUNCIATION*(5) ARE MENTAL – NOT PHYSICAL; AND CANNOT BE ACHIEVED BY
(……………..?……………………………) FORCING ONESELF
*(1) – THIS IS SO, NOT MERELY BECAUSE THE BUDDHA SAID IT; BUT BECAUSE MOTIVE IS THE ONLY RATIONAL OR NATURAL BASIS FOR DETERMINING JUSTICE – IN ALL SITUATIONS. ACTUALLY, INTENTION OR WANTING IS A SUGGESTIVE THOUGHT; WHICH WHEN ESTABLISHED GETS FIXED OR BECOMES AN
INTENTIONAL INTENTION – A DECISION OR MOTIVATION. (IN COMMON BUDDHIST PARLANCE, ‘CRAVING’ IS A DESIRE OR INTENTION, AND ‘GRASPING’ AMOUNTS TO AN ESTABLISHED DESIRE OR INTENTIONAL INTENTION, WHICH CAN BE KARMICALLY PRODUCTIVE.) AS REGARDS THE PRODUCTION OF KARMA, ALL INTENTIONAL INTENTIONS, THOUGH DECISIONS ARE NOT USUALLY THE REQUIRED MOTIVATIONS. ONLY TRUE COMPASSION IS PRODUCTIVE (OR POSITIVE) MOTIVATIONS. THUS KARMA IS A MENTAL COMPONENT; POSITIVE AMOUNTS TO A PRODUCTION, AND NEGATIVE TO A LOSS OF THAT GAINED. AND
AS THERE IS NO WAY THAT CAN BE USED, IT HAS NO LOSS. IN OTHER WORDS, KARMA CANNOT BE SPENT (LIKE MONEY) IT CAN BE DEBITED ONLY – BY NEGATIVE MOTIVATIONS. HENCE THIS TYPE OF KARMA CAN HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON SUB-HUMAN FORMS, EITHER AS A GAIN OR A DEBIT. IN PRACTICE TOO THEY REMAIN NEUTRAL. AS THERE IS NO WAY BY WHICH POSITIVE KARMA CAN DIRECT IT SELF, TO
SATISFY THEIR WISHES NEITHER DOES NEGATIVE KARMA DESIGN INTERNAL EFFECTS SUCH AS PUNITIVE BIRTH DEFORMITIES, BY INSTINCTIVE CONSTRUCTION. KARMA, HERE, REMAINS ESSENTIALLY A MORAL MAKER; THOUGH THE PRODUCTIVE ACTIONS SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE: WHAT EVERY HUMAN SEEKS. (ONE COULD BE TRULY COMPASSIONATE TO A STONE IDOL; BUT NO EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE WILL OCCUR HERE!) THE BUDDHA CALLED IT. IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE KARMA’: AN INTERNAL (MENTAL) ADJUSTMENT AND AN EXTERNAL
ASSISTANCE, OR RESISTANCE – NOW! THERE ARE OTHER CONNOTATIONS OF KARMA; BUT NONE OF THEM HAS ANY ASSOCIATION WITH COMPASSION OR MORALITY. (AN OBNOXIOUS PRACTICE EXIST AMONGST MANY BUDDHISTS OF ATTEMPTING TO TRASMIT POSITIVE KARMA TO THEIR DEAD KITH AND KIN. THEN WHY NOT NEGATIVE KARMA TO ENEMIES? THIS HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN DEVICED BY THOSE WHO STAND TO GAIN THE MOST BY IT – THE CRAFTY CLERGY! FOR THE MOMENT, THE ENTIRE QUESTION OF KARMA SHOULD BE ‘PUT ON HOLD’, UNTIL, A TANGIBLE UNIT OF MIND IS ESTABLISHED, IN DUE COURSE, THE PURPOSE OF INTRODUCING THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF KARMA TO SCIENCE, IS TO SHOW THAT THE BEING HAS A FUNCTIONING MORAL DIMENSION. )
IF COMPASSION AND CRUELTY WERE TO BE THE CRITERIA FOR KARMA; THEY SHOULD ELICIT SPECIAL UNDERSTANDING INDUCED (MORAL MARKING) FEELING IN A BEING: WHICH THEY DO! (THESE ARE RATHER SIMILAR TO THE FINE EMOTION OF LOVE AND BASE EMOTION OF LUST; WHICH MEANS THAT COMPASSION IS ACQUIRED)
ACQUIRED AND POSITIVE, WHERE AS CRUELTY OR HATRED IS SPONTANEOUS AND NEGATIVE. COMPASSION IS NOT SORROW AT ANOTHER’S SUFFERING. IT IS ‘TEARS OF JOY’ AT THE THOUGHT OF HELPING. AND CRUELTY IS NOT THE JOY OF THE KILL, BUT OVERCOMING THE PAIN OF HATE BY THE THOUGHT OF HURT.
A SRI LANKAN RECIPE FOR POSITIVE KARMA!
AN ALLNIGHT PIRITH (CHANTING OF THE TEXT)/ CEREMONY WILL BE HELD IN YOUR MEMORY AT OUR RESIDENCE TODAY (FEBRUARY 14) FOLLOWED BY A SANGHIKA DANA (FOOD AND GIFTS FOR CLERGY) TOMORROW (FEBRUARY 15). MAY THE MERITS DERIVED FROM THIS PINKAMA HELP YOU TO OVERCOME TRAGIC DEATHS OF THIS NATURE IN YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH SAMSARA AND ATTAIN THE
ETERNAL BLISS OF NIBBANA. – (CEYLON DAILY NEWS 14.02.2000)
*(2) – COMPASSION IS, TO BE MOVED BY ANOTHER’S SUFFERING – A MOTIVE TO HELP. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HURT, WITH CONCERN; OR, TO BE KIND, WITH BITTERNESS (HATE). INDIFFERENCE CAN CONCEAL HEARTLESSNESS, WHICH AMOUNTS TO A MASKED HATRED. HOWEVER, COMPASSION IS THE COSMIC
CALL COMMON TO ALL; AND HAS TO BE THE MOTIVATION OR BASIC CRITERION OR ALL GOOD OR ‘KARMIC PRODUCTION’__ IF IT EXISTS! (AN EXTENSION TO COMPASSION IS ‘ALTRUISM’ OR THE ABILITY TO APPRECIATE ANOTHER’S JUST JOY. THIS IS VERY RATIONAL PHENOMENONS AND THE ULTIMATE CONCERN FOR A HUMAN: GLADNESS AT ANOTHER’S JUST JOY. COMPASSION AND ‘ALTRUISM’ COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER, SIMILAR TO THEIR ANTAGONISTS HEARTLESSNESS OR CRUELTY AND INEXCUSABLE ENVY. )
*(3) – WHEN A WANT IS BEYOND ALL RATIONAL (RATIONALLY ASSESSED) NEED, THEN THE WANT BECOMES AN OBSESSIONAL GREED. (AN UNCONTROLLED URGE CAN BECOME AN UNCONTROLLABLE
URG-ENCY. PERIODIC ABSTINENCE, REQUIRED BY ISLAM, KEEPS A MEANINGFUL CHECK ON SUCH ‘URGES’ AND ENSURES OPTIMUM INDULGENCE.)
*(4) – NEED AND GREED, SIMILAR TO DISLIKE AND HATE, ARE JUST TWO ENDS OF A SPECTRUM. THE CONTROL OF GREED AND HATE MERELY STEADIES ONE ON THE PATH (OR FACILITATES THINKING) TO THE ULTIMATE ELIMINATION OF NEED AND DISLIKE OR ALL WANT (IN CONDITIONED EXISTENCE); DISCARDING ALL POSSIBLE PLEASURES FOR THE ULTIMATE PLEASURE.
*(5) – ONE CAN RENOUNCE SOMETHING ONLY OF A LITTLE VALUE FOR ANOTHER OF GREATER VALUE, OTHERWISE THE RENUNCIATION WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE – MENTALLY. HENCE, THE KEY TO RENUNCIATION IS EXPRESSION AND UNDERSTANDING, AND NOT, SUPPRESSION AND IGNORING. ACTUALLY, THE TERM RENUNCIATION IS PARADOXICAL, FOR ONE IS ONLY GIVING UP SOMETHING WHICH IS UNSATISFACTORY FOR ANOTHER WHICH IS SATISFACTORY – AS THE BUDDHA DID. HE GAVE UP NOT ONLY GREED BUT NOT ALL NEED TOO, THAT WERE IMPERMANENT AND UNCERTAIN (AND HENCE UNSATISFACTORY) FOR A PERMANENT, BLISSFUL STATE. ATTEMPTING TO GET CLOSE TO THIS STATE BY PROGRESSIVELY CURTAILING ONE’S PLEASURE IS NOT ONLY IMPOSSIBLE BUT VERY FOOLISH! THE DUAL PURPOSE OF ANY SELF RESTRAINT IS TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS WHICH HINDERS
STUDY, AND ALSO TO MAINTAIN A PRACTICAL COMPASSION. BUT EXCESSIVE RESTRAINT TOO CAN CAUSE A SIMILAR HINDRANCE. HENCE THE MIDDLE PATH (OF MORALITY) TO FACILITATE HIGHER STUDY (OF REALITY).
RESTRAINT ® REFLECTION ® REALIZATION ® RENUNCIATION.